Lisa McDaniel, a physician assistant in family practice who specializes in NaPro Technology, authored this guest article that appeared in the July 19, 2012, edition of The Catholic Sun:

Infertility – it is one of the most dreaded words in our culture, second only it seems to the “C” word. But unlike cancer, infertility is not a diagnosis; it is merely a symptom of an underlying condition, just like a fever is to a child’s ear infection. Unfortunately, most medical providers see infertility as a diagnosis and stopping point, instead of a warning sign that something has gone wrong in the chain of fertility. Without searching for the cause of infertility, the undiagnosed condition will likely never improve and a couple may feel their only options are costly and invasive infertility “treatments” like Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) or In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to achieve further pregnancies.

But, luckily, there is great news for infertility, and it’s called NaPro Technology, a leading scientific and medical advancement that improves not only a woman’s overall health, but her fertility, too. Short for Natural Procreative Technology, NaPro puts procreation back in the bedroom by identifying and correcting underlying hormonal imbalances and diseases that most specialists leave undiagnosed, some of which can cause serious harm to women if untreated. NaPro’s main focus is to return a woman’s health and fertility to its natural state, greatly improving a couple’s chance of conceiving a baby without medical intervention, thus eliminating the need for today’s more common infertility “treatments”. But for fertility specialists, restoring a woman’s fertility translates to no repeat customers. Countless friends and patients have conceived using NaPro, after specialists advised them that their only chance of conceiving was with IVF.

Dr. Thomas Hilgers MD, a world-renowned OB/GYN at Creighton University, founded NaPro accidentally in the 1970s while designing a scientifically based natural family planning method called Creighton Model System (CrMS) that charts a woman’s daily fertility. Dr. Hilgers noticed that women suffering with infertility, miscarriage and other gynecological problems had abnormal charts, yet each condition had its own unique abnormalities. He proposed that a woman could actually identify infertility and other medical disorders before she even developed symptoms, simply by charting her cycles. I have 13-year-old patients doing just that.

But NaPro is not just highly successful in treating infertility, it also treats diseases like endometriosis, PCOD (polycystic ovarian disease), postpartum depression, PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) as well as correctable hormonal imbalances that cause symptoms like painful periods, acne, PMS and ovarian cysts. Currently, many of these are “treated” with a Group One Carcinogen we know as Combined Oral Contraceptive pills, or “The Pill.” While birth control may temporarily alleviate some of these symptoms, it does not treat any of these problems, does not identify the underlying source of the disorder, nor does it “regulate” a woman’s cycle. Rather, it highjacks ovarian function and the placebo or “sugar pills” at the end of the pill pack cause a sudden drop in progesterone levels, leading to a withdrawal bleed, not a true period. There is literally no gynecological problem that should be treated with birth control. There is always a better option with NaPro Technology, and there are four NaPro specialists in Arizona ready to help.

Another life-altering disorder NaPro treats is postpartum depression, currently treated as a psychiatric disorder with anti-depressants and antipsychotics. But in actuality, it is caused by low progesterone, which I have seen corrected in my patients in less than an hour with an in-office injection of progesterone, not unlike getting the flu shot.

Women deserve to be healthy. They deserve to have their problems discovered and treated properly, not covered up. For more information on NaPro, check out www.naprotechnology.com. To find a NaPro specialist in your area, search for “Medical Consultant” at www.fertilitycare.org (U.S. only) and www.fertilitycare.net (outside of U.S.). To find local NFP-only medical providers, check out www.onemoresoul.com.

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